Soil quality reflects microbial resource availability and drives rhizosphere microbiome variation in Ghanaian cocoa farms

Cocoa (Theobroma cacao L.) is an important crop in Ghana and the source of livelihood for hundreds of thousands of smallholder farmers. Maintaining soil quality on these farms is critical to ensuring the long-term viability of cocoa farming and preventing deforestation to meet rising demand. However...

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Autores principales: Schmidt, J., Addo-Danso, S.D., Asare, R., Tettey, A., Isaac, M.E.
Formato: Journal Article
Lenguaje:Inglés
Publicado: Elsevier 2024
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://hdl.handle.net/10568/144049
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author Schmidt, J.
Addo-Danso, S.D.
Asare, R.
Tettey, A.
Isaac, M.E.
author_browse Addo-Danso, S.D.
Asare, R.
Isaac, M.E.
Schmidt, J.
Tettey, A.
author_facet Schmidt, J.
Addo-Danso, S.D.
Asare, R.
Tettey, A.
Isaac, M.E.
author_sort Schmidt, J.
collection Repository of Agricultural Research Outputs (CGSpace)
description Cocoa (Theobroma cacao L.) is an important crop in Ghana and the source of livelihood for hundreds of thousands of smallholder farmers. Maintaining soil quality on these farms is critical to ensuring the long-term viability of cocoa farming and preventing deforestation to meet rising demand. However, increasing attention to soil health has revealed a significant knowledge gap related to the soil microbiome in cocoa production systems. Using a nested design of sixteen smallholder cocoa farms in agroforestry or monoculture, on different soil quality classes and in different agroecological zones, a study was conducted to identify 1) drivers of rhizosphere microbial diversity and community composition across scales and 2) the extent of microbial differentiation between soil quality classes. Soil quality had far greater impacts than agroecological zone or agroforestry vs. monoculture management on microbial diversity and community composition, accounting for 17 % of variation in prokaryotes and 10 % in fungi. Good-quality and poor-quality soils contrasted in soil and root parameters, creating variable microbial resources, which led to differences in microbial community composition and the relative abundance of specific taxa. Soil organic matter and root traits were key drivers of community composition in good-quality soils, while permanganate-oxidizable carbon was relatively more important in poor-quality soils. These results underscore the importance of considering rhizosphere microbial communities in assessments of soil quality and highlight taxa that may serve as biological indicators of soil health in cocoa agroforestry systems.
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spelling CGSpace1440492025-10-26T12:54:48Z Soil quality reflects microbial resource availability and drives rhizosphere microbiome variation in Ghanaian cocoa farms Schmidt, J. Addo-Danso, S.D. Asare, R. Tettey, A. Isaac, M.E. theobroma cacao soil quality microbiomes agroforestry soil health Cocoa (Theobroma cacao L.) is an important crop in Ghana and the source of livelihood for hundreds of thousands of smallholder farmers. Maintaining soil quality on these farms is critical to ensuring the long-term viability of cocoa farming and preventing deforestation to meet rising demand. However, increasing attention to soil health has revealed a significant knowledge gap related to the soil microbiome in cocoa production systems. Using a nested design of sixteen smallholder cocoa farms in agroforestry or monoculture, on different soil quality classes and in different agroecological zones, a study was conducted to identify 1) drivers of rhizosphere microbial diversity and community composition across scales and 2) the extent of microbial differentiation between soil quality classes. Soil quality had far greater impacts than agroecological zone or agroforestry vs. monoculture management on microbial diversity and community composition, accounting for 17 % of variation in prokaryotes and 10 % in fungi. Good-quality and poor-quality soils contrasted in soil and root parameters, creating variable microbial resources, which led to differences in microbial community composition and the relative abundance of specific taxa. Soil organic matter and root traits were key drivers of community composition in good-quality soils, while permanganate-oxidizable carbon was relatively more important in poor-quality soils. These results underscore the importance of considering rhizosphere microbial communities in assessments of soil quality and highlight taxa that may serve as biological indicators of soil health in cocoa agroforestry systems. 2024-06 2024-05-24T14:46:17Z 2024-05-24T14:46:17Z Journal Article https://hdl.handle.net/10568/144049 en Limited Access Elsevier Schmidt, J., Addo-Danso, S.D., Asare, R., Tettey, A. & Isaac, M.E. (2024). Soil quality reflects microbial resource availability and drives rhizosphere microbiome variation in Ghanaian cocoa farms. Applied Soil Ecology, 198: 105378, 1-9.
spellingShingle theobroma cacao
soil quality
microbiomes
agroforestry
soil health
Schmidt, J.
Addo-Danso, S.D.
Asare, R.
Tettey, A.
Isaac, M.E.
Soil quality reflects microbial resource availability and drives rhizosphere microbiome variation in Ghanaian cocoa farms
title Soil quality reflects microbial resource availability and drives rhizosphere microbiome variation in Ghanaian cocoa farms
title_full Soil quality reflects microbial resource availability and drives rhizosphere microbiome variation in Ghanaian cocoa farms
title_fullStr Soil quality reflects microbial resource availability and drives rhizosphere microbiome variation in Ghanaian cocoa farms
title_full_unstemmed Soil quality reflects microbial resource availability and drives rhizosphere microbiome variation in Ghanaian cocoa farms
title_short Soil quality reflects microbial resource availability and drives rhizosphere microbiome variation in Ghanaian cocoa farms
title_sort soil quality reflects microbial resource availability and drives rhizosphere microbiome variation in ghanaian cocoa farms
topic theobroma cacao
soil quality
microbiomes
agroforestry
soil health
url https://hdl.handle.net/10568/144049
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